Building a Titan Shifter Army
by Kyough
Summary: A dangerous game is being played by the upper echelon. A game that may change the fates of Eren Jaeger and Annie Leonhart forever. [Warning!] Mature content in later chapters coming ahead!
1. Chapter 1: A Gamble

**Chapter One: A Gamble**

* * *

It was another day behind the walls that protected humanity from the harsh world of the titans.

A warm, gentle wind blew making the blades of grass dance gracefully while the sun shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sky. The citizens took this as a cue to hang out their laundry and almost all the clothes lines were occupied by either clean, white linen bedsheets or clean clothes all of which flapped serenely with the wind.

Among the people who were hanging out their laundry was Mikasa Ackerman. Today she was wearing casual clothes instead of her military uniform, her trademark scarf which she got from her childhood friend Eren wrapped snugly around her neck to keep her from feeling the changing weather to the cooler chill that the wind brought signaling that the sunny days were numbered as the season changed from summer to autumn.

"Thanks for helping me hang out the laundry, young lady," the elderly woman who stood beside her said.

A small smile passed on Mikasa's lips as she waved off the thanks humbly. The both of them then started walking back for the sun had risen up fully replacing the cool morning air with a more hot and humid one.

"But you sure must be happy that you're getting a break from those expeditions outside the walls," the elderly lady commented before she sighed and rubbed at the small area of her back just slightly above her waist level. "Ah, I'm not as young as I used to be. Excuse me if I blabber on like that. It must come with the old age."

Mikasa shook her head and reassured the old lady that it was fine and that she wasn't bothered by that comment. "Actually, I'm glad too. There's so many things that have been happening lately."

It was true. The recent increase in attacks by the invading titans led to the members of the army to grow tired and weary. Especially now since every attack caused them to dwindle in numbers they were all on their toes as they tried to make do with their limited manpower to always be on the ready. Even the normal citizens were on high alert, especially those living at the outermost wall having their luggage packed in case they had to evacuate at a moment's notice.

"You think so too, young lady?" the elderly woman glad to have found that they both shared the same opinion spoke more freely. "Hm, still, I wonder if we can afford to relax now that the military can question one of the more intelligent titans after they've captured one," she paused and her mood darkened, "Or if we should be more guarded seeing that there are people who can shape-shift into titans at will. We don't know how many of them are in these walls living among us waiting to strike."

Mikasa noted the old woman's concern and thought about the issues that she's raised for a moment. While she was lost in her thoughts the elderly woman stopped walking abruptly and turned towards her a smile breaking on her face, stretching out the heavy wrinkled lines on her face. "Well, this is my house. Thanks for the help, young lady," she picked up the laundry basket that Mikasa was carrying on her arms and added, "Don't think too much about what I've said. Old people can say things when they talk to themselves aloud sometimes." And with a wave, the elderly lady hobbled along the gravel path until she reached her house which was only a short distance away.

Mikasa stared at the old woman's small, bent back and smiled to herself. She felt an odd satisfaction at being able to help others especially help that didn't require violence. What she began as trying to keep Eren safe by joining the military had now grown into her (though she would still place Eren as the number one priority).

* * *

It didn't take Mikasa more than ten minutes before she spotted Eren. For some odd reason she had developed a sense of tracking of some sort to always be by Eren's side never leaving him for longer than an hour or so at most, though she wasn't aware of this strange ability herself.

She exited the narrow street she was walking through and entered the dusty and busy market square. As soon as she got through, she called out to him and shouted his name but he was oblivious to her calls as he continued walking from store to store getting pushed along by the crowd as he went.

Seeing that Eren couldn't hear her, Mikasa quickened her pace, pushing through multiple sweaty bodies along the way. Several times people grunted in irritation as Mikasa's well trained body hard enough to withstand a few light blows from titans collided with them pushing them to the side even through Mikasa's low momentum.

"Eren!" Mikasa called out once again.

The black haired man still with some hints of his boyish features thought he heard someone call his name so he looked in front of him trying to find out the source of the call. It took Mikasa three more shouts before Eren finally isolated her voice from the loud buzzing of the crowd and of merchants shouting out their wares and peddlers selling their goods. Eren turned around to see his childhood friend sweaty from both the heat and the exertion of pushing through the crowd. He looked at her and noted the thin strands of dark, black hair sticking upon the sides of her face.

"What's up, Mikasa?" he asked, surprise showing on his face. Today was a day off for most of them and they were all left to their own devices. There was no duty or instructions left for them so they were free to do what they wanted to do for the rest of the day hence many of them decided to enjoy their day by doing just that so he didn't expect to run into Mikasa at all.

Without knowing the reason himself, Eren helped Mikasa brush off the rogue strands of hair on her face causing Mikasa to blush slightly. Fortunately Eren didn't notice.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just saw you when I entered the market square."

Eren had an odd feeling from within him and he somehow had his doubts since this wasn't the first time that Mikasa chanced upon him after they were separated. Deep in his subconscious he was coming to a realisation that Mikasa was never away from him for long periods of time. He knew that this doubt wasn't an ill doubt though, but more a good one if there was such a thing as a good doubt.

Whatever it was, he brushed his thoughts aside and offered for them to walk around together.

Mikasa readily agreed and as they both walked around together viewing the stalls. Mikasa had to convince herself that it was a simple offer of walking around together and not a date.

"Why are you walking around the market square though?" Mikasa asked. "If you wanted to go shopping you could have gone to the shopping district. There's nothing to buy here but fresh produce."

"Ah, erm," Eren immediately replied. The question came so suddenly so even though he had an answer he still stumbled around his words. "Well, you see, we're already twenty years old right?" he said, beating around the bush.

Mikasa waited patiently. She knew Eren well and knew that the answer would come eventually.

"Yeah… I was thinking if I ever got a wife and if she went on strike from cooking because of some mood swing or something then I'd have to cook for myself so since we have the day off I wanted to try my hand at cooking."

Mikasa kept silent for a moment and Eren was embarrassed thinking that his childhood friend might be thinking that he was stupid for saying the stuff that he just said.

"A noble idea, Eren," Mikasa finally broke her silence. "But you really should get a girlfriend first."

"What?! That's horrible Mikasa!" Eren protested. "I'll have you know that I'm about to get myself one. Soon."

Mikasa raised an eyebrow and, in a teasing tone said, "Oh? So who's this girl that you're after?"

Eren opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He didn't have the answer. The reasoning that he gave Mikasa about buying cooking ingredients from the market square was the truth but his statement after Mikasa's reply was a lie. He was thinking that it was about time that he settled down, get a girlfriend, marry and then have kids. It was an instinct that almost all of the humans within the walls had for life was short and they could die anytime so natural selection made sure that the human race didn't die out.

Having someone else that he liked was a different matter. He had none yet. Still, Eren didn't want to lose the argument without putting up a fight so, blushing even harder, he mumbled barely audibly but still enough for Mikasa to hear despite the buzzing of the crowd since they were standing close enough, "Well, Krista's very pretty and Sasha is charming… even Hannah has an odd beauty to her with her freckles and all…"

"Huh?" Mikasa exclaimed. She was expecting Eren to randomly blurt out names but she never expected him to give her a description of why they were candidates for his affection in the future. Right then, Mikasa felt a feeling of jealousy rise up from within her, threatening to burst out from her chest but outwardly she kept her cool and she replied by patting Eren on the shoulder and saying solemnly, "It's alright, Eren. You'll find a girlfriend soon - and she may be even closer to you than you think."

Eren was about to ask her what she meant when he noticed that the crowd parted revealing a clear path to their direction. Walking over was a group of people who looked about Eren and Mikasa's age bearing the uniform of the Military Police Brigade walking towards them.

"You are Eren Jaeger?" the one at the front, obviously their leader, questioned.

"I am. What do you want?" Eren replied guardedly.

"Come with us."

Mikasa started. She made to stop Eren from going and was about to ask for the reason for the disturbance but she was stopped by another from the group.

"Mikasa Ackerman." The person stated. "We've heard much about you and your good service but regrettably this is an order from above. Eren Jaeger will come with us and you will stay here. Do anything foolish and you'll be sure that you won't be seeing him again," he threatened.

* * *

The room was wide and elaborately decorated. Precious metals of silver and gold coated handles, candle holders and the like. The carpets although it had seen better days still exhibited a sliver of its former glory through the intricate patterns weaved into it. Even the desk and the chair were made with expensive wood polished and finished with lacquer to protect it from ageing.

In the middle of the room sat a balding man wearing an elegant robe. His nose nearly touched the paper that he was writing on and his hand flew across the paper with precision, the peacock feathered quill that he held adding an artful elegance to his writing strokes.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by an announcement. "Milord, we bring Eren Jaeger as requested."

The balding man looked up and peered through his round spectacles and told the people standing outside to enter.

The door swung open and five people burst into the room. One led the way while two marched an unwilling Eren into the room. The fifth person entered last. He was the rear guard making sure that Eren didn't have a path of escape.

There was a short silence in the room after the group entered as they stood awkwardly not knowing what to do next in this kind of situation. A frown crept up on the balding man's face as he regarded the five before him. In a dismayed tone he addressed Eren who was still held like a prisoner in between the two. "You are Eren Jaeger?"

Eren glared at the balding man and defiantly said, "Yeah. And who are you?"

One of the people holding him made to hit him while saying, "You dare-" but was cut off and stopped by the balding man.

"Apologies, Eren, for the rough treatment." He said, though his voice carried no hint of apology at all. Eren knew that the statement was just a formality. "I am Laird Sears, Duke of Stohess," he introduced himself. "Don't look at me like that. I am your friend. Not an enemy."

With a wave of his hand he dismissed the other four and indicated for him to sit. Eren didn't sit straightaway but instead watched Laird with suspicion before he finally decided to sit down on the expensive sofa slowly.

As soon as he saw Eren ease up a bit, Laird smiled, a smile which Eren felt was genuine. "Would you like a drink? Coffee? Tea?"

Eren shook his head and spoke a little bit more politely. He knew that he was taken captive. Perhaps he was going to be interrogated, he thought. But whatever the case may be, he was still being treated well compared to other treatments he has had before.

"Sure? Well that's a shame. Well then," Laird clapped his hands together. "Let's get to the point, Eren. What do you know of Annie Leonhart?"

Eren immediately stiffened and became guarded.

"Sir, I think I have already answered that question before when I appeared in front of the board." Eren remembered the two times that he appeared in front of the board. First was during his trial and the second was after the capture of Annie Leonhard. The bitter memory of the gruelling interrogation by the most important people starting from the Duke of the smallest keep to the heads of each military faction all the way up to the Emperor.

"That was that and this is this, Eren," the balding Duke said nonchalantly.

His patience running low, Eren burst out, "I don't know! She was my training partner that's it! What do you people want me to say? 'Oh yes, we knew each other as titan shifters and have been scheming to destroy humanity from the walls inside out'?

Give me a break. I hate the titans from my core. I would rather kill all of them than join them. They killed my mother!" he roared.

Laird frowned. "I see. That's a shame," he sighed dejectedly. "I was hoping I could assign you to a task. Of course, it will benefit in the war against the titans."

Eren's curiosity was piqued. He was not one to shy from missions, especially if it was regarding killing titans.

Laird smiled. "Ohoho, it seems that you're interested, Eren. However, judging from your looks, it seems you and I are not on the same page. Yes. You have the look of a hot blooded man seeking to kill titans. That's the kind of mission you're expecting but," he paused. "Killing titans isn't the only way to help humanity, you know?"

Eren looked at Laird questioningly and the balding man continued.

"You see, I was thinking of getting more information from Annie Leonhart. Who else are titan shifters, where they are, what are the titans really… the list of questions I have just goes on and on."

"But-"

"You're really not one for patience are you, Eren Jaeger," Laird cut Eren off before he could interject. "That's the problem when you're young, you see. You never listen. There is a saying, Eren: 'Know thy enemy more than you know thyself'. If we had more information about the titans maybe we can finish them once and for all.

I know that you're thinking that Annie will never give out information. I agree. We've tried everything. Violence, truth serum, but she won't utter even a single word. So I'm thinking, perhaps having a lover coax information from her will do the trick."

"Sir?" Eren's head spun. The conversation took a strange turn and he feared that he wouldn't be able to keep up unless the balding Duke explained it to him slowly.

Laird walked across the room, his robes swaying against the carpet as he did and stopped in front of a bookshelf. Pulling out a small volume and flipping it open to a bookmarked page he said, "This book is one of the few in existence that survived from before the walls were formed. It was passed down from my ancestors to every generation of my family. We call it the bible.

One of the passages tell of a hero named Samson who was gifted strength by God. It took a shrewed woman called Delilah who was sent by the Devil to ensnare Samson with her beauty then unravel the secrets to his strength and how to defeat him," Laird stopped looking at the book called the bible and smiled at Eren. "You Eren will be Delilah. You will help us gather information by making Annie fall in love with you."

Eren was aghast. He opened and closed his mouth not knowing what to say. He couldn't even think about what Laird told him. A few minutes passed and Laird simply observed him, waiting patiently for Eren to digest the information he just presented him. Laird knew that if Eren agreed the rewards he would reap would be enormous.

On the other hand, when Eren's brain finally functioned, he could only think slowly and so he finally said, "Let me think about it, sir."

Laird nodded. He didn't mind waiting. This was an under the table arrangement that he concocted himself after all. Only he could do it for as Duke of Stohess he had free reign over the prisons in the area under his jurisdiction. He thought that it was a lucky break for him that Annie's capture occurred within the area of his jurisdiction and as such she was imprisoned there as well.

"Very well, go," he dismissed Eren. "I expect to hear from you soon."

Eren bowed slightly to show a little bit of courtesy and left leaving Laird to his thoughts. A few moments later a knock on the door signalled that someone else was waiting outside. He ordered the person in and the leader of the group earlier walked in.

"Milord, do you think this decision is wise?"

"You have been listening, Kelvin?"

"Only just, Sir."

Laird smiled and nodded. "Of course you were, my son. But worry not. This decision is perhaps the wisest I've made." Laird looked at his son's questioning look and smiled, giving away the answer. "You have read my archives. We have a vague understanding of why children look like their parents."

"Something about genetics?" Kelvin offered.

"Yes. Genetics. And what do you think would happen if love were to blossom between the two titan shifters?"

Kelvin's eyes opened wide as realisation came to him. "You don't mean?"

Laird grinned, a mad look in his eyes showing in the light of the setting sun. "That's exactly what I mean. How would you like to have a titan shifter army all kidnapped from Eren and Annie's joining during their childhood and brainwashed to be faithful to us?"

* * *

End of Chapter One

 _To be continued..._

* * *

P.S.

Hi All, thank you for reading the first chapter of this fanfic.

I haven't been writing in a long time and would really like to hear your thoughts on this and don't forget to subscribe or like to get update notifications! It would really mean a lot to me! Cheers,

Kyough


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Cell

**Chapter Two: Into the Cell**

* * *

Eren left the Duke's house with the sun still shining strong upon the afternoon sky. As he exited the grand doorways and walked through the stone tiled pavement towards the gate, Eren couldn't help but be amazed at the size of Laird Sears' courtyard.

It was a massive expanse of land and for almost as far as his eyes could see the green, well maintained lawns tended to by at least three or four gardeners. Trees all neatly fashioned with no overhanging branches lined the path and near the courtyard itself was a gardening space filled with all manners of flowers.

Seeing all this made Eren truly realise what it meant to be rich. He even imagined himself to live in such luxuries someday. He thought of working hard, rising through the ranks and being granted titles for his services. However, he shook the thought out of his mind before it could fully take root. He knew that it was only a wild fantasy that was only allowed if he was still a child. The harsh reality was there was no way he would be able to achieve it. Still, his subconscious stuck on to some hope. If not for him then perhaps for his future generations. He thought that it would be nice if he was stable enough so that his children wouldn't have to worry.

And that's why he has to get rid of the titans first.

For there to be peace the adversaries had to go first. At least, that's what Eren thought. So, throughout the whole ten minute walk through Laird Sears' courtyard on his way out, Eren was mulling over Laird Sears' offer. So deep in thought was he that before he knew it he was already standing in front of the large, steel gates that marked the beginning of the Duke of Stohess' property.

He looked up from his reverie to see Mikasa with a look of mixed relief and worry on her face waiting for him outside the gate. As soon as she saw him, Mikasa grew excited and shouted out his name louder than necessary.

"Eren!"

Eren reassured her that he was fine and asked the guards for the gates to be opened. They complied and shortly after, Eren found himself caught in a tight hug in Mikasa's arms.

"Oh I was so worried," she said. "I was ready to storm the place if you didn't come out soon. Did they do anything to you?" she asked worriedly.

Eren looked at Mikasa first with shock and then amazement. He knew his childhood friend so well that he had no doubt that she would have done exactly what she said she would do. Between the two emotions however, Eren found amusement and he laughed whole heartedly which earned him a questioning look from Mikasa.

"Nothing," he wheezed while wiping away a small tear that had formed on the corners of his eyes. It had been a long time since he laughed this hard or if he had laughed at all since all hell had broken lose.

Mikasa started but thought better not to and together they walked through the crowd talking about random topics until their feet carried them back towards their soldier's quarters. From here, Mikasa bade Eren a short goodbye saying that she will see him later during dinner before she headed off to the women's barracks.

With nothing to do until then, Eren decided to head back to his room, lie down on his bed and busy himself by thinking about the Laird Sears' proposition.

The musty smell of old wood filled Eren's lungs as he walked through the corridors. He didn't notice the smell before even though he had already stayed in this barracks ever since he joined the military. He wondered and attributed it to the fact that if he wasn't fighting against the titans where the battlefield carried the rustic smell of the blood of his fallen comrades, he would otherwise spend day in and day out here. Hence, Eren realised the difference only when he got some fresh air thanks to his day off.

He walked into his room.

No, that was wrong. It wasn't actually his room for he shared it with three other people. The familiar sight of the two double decker bunk beds greeted his sight and he was surprised to see that his long time friend Armin was already back, sitting on the bottom bunk bed reading a book.

Realising that he wasn't alone in the room anymore, Armin looked up to see Eren at the doorway. "Oh, Eren. You're back. That was fast."

Eren strolled through to his bunk directly across Armin's and sat down on the mattress which caused it to give out an audible creak. "Yeah. Stuff happened."

"Well, that certainly seems so," Armin laughed, tossing his pillow towards Eren.

Eren caught the pillow dexterously with one hand and looked at Armin questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a look of seriousness on your face."

Chucking the pillow back at Armin, it was Eren's turn to laugh. "I look serious all the time, Armin. I should know. I look in the mirror when I brush my teeth."

"You mean when you're arranging your hair?"

"I'm not that vain."

Armin shrugged, showing that he thought otherwise. "But yeah, it's a different kind of serious look."

"Hmm…"

There was a short silence that followed. Armin knew that the conversation had already ended but was proven wrong when Eren broke the silence saying, "Armin what would you do if you had a chance to finish the titans off once and for all?"

Armin looked at Eren blankly. "What do you mean?"

"Say if we had the chance to know who the titans are, where they came from and why they're attacking us, what would you do?"

Armin didn't even have to think about it and said with certainty, "I'll grab the opportunity to find out of course." Then the blonde boy, catching on quickly, perked up and said, "Why? Did you find out?"

Eren gave it a moment of thought. Although he trusted them both with his life, unlike Mikasa Eren knew that Armin wouldn't over-react so he decided to confide with him the details of the meeting that he had with Laird Sears, Duke of Stohess.

After Eren was done relating his story, Armin assumed a thinking position by resting his chin between his thumb and index finger. There was a reason why Armin was the smartest person in their consort and it didn't take long before Armin slowly said, "It's a wild idea, Eren. So wild that I might even say that the Duke of Stohess is insane."

"So what should you have me do, Armin?" Eren started. He trusted in the decision of his childhood friend and even though Laird Sears' idea appealed to him slightly, he wouldn't hesitate to refuse if Armin advices him so.

"The chances of this plan working is low. Very low. Close to nil, in fact…" Armin kept mumbling as he thought some more to himself. Suddenly he stopped, looked at Eren and asked, "Eren, how do you feel about Annie?"

"What do you mean 'how do I feel about Annie'?"

"You know," Armin made gestures with his hand by making circling motions with it as if the word was at the tip of his tongue and he was encouraging himself to remember it by doing so. "As a man?"

"What?"

"How do you feel about Annie Leonhart? Romantically?"

Eren was caught by surprise and blurted out, "Absurd! What makes you think I'd like a titan?"

"You're not being honest with yourself, Eren," Armin prompted. "How about before you found out she was the female titan?"

This made Eren think for a moment and ask himself. How did he feel about Annie Leonhart?

"She was alright, I guess," Eren replied. He used the word 'was' to refer to Annie before he found out that she was the female titan. As if the Annie before and the current Annie being imprisoned somewhere were two different people.

"You guess?"

"She was alright!" Eren said definitely, removing the 'I guess' to his previous statement.

Now sure about how Eren felt about Annie, Armin was still faced with a dilemma. Knowing how Eren felt didn't change anything about the situation. It was a still a crazy plan and a far shot from being successful, not to mention that Armin had a nagging feeling in his gut that something was fishy about the whole affair.

Finally, giving up, Armin gave a mix between a growl and a sigh as he scratched his head in frustration, unsettling his tidy hair into a mess. "Argh! I can't think of how the Duke's stupid plan will work! I suppose you could give it a try though. You feel alright about Annie anyway and we have nothing to lose if you did."

Eren supposed there was some sense into Armin's argument so he decided that tomorrow he would go back to Laird Sears' manor and tell him that he was willing to go ahead with the plan.

* * *

The next day as soon as the roosters crowed Eren jumped out of his bed startling the person who slept on the top bunk above him.

"Oh sorry, Jean," he apologised.

Jean Kirstein looked outside the window and saw that the sun has not even fully risen so he rolled over his bed grumbling before he slipped back into his slumber.

On the other hand, Eren had butterflies in his stomach. He was anticipating sunrise like a child waiting for Christmas presents so he couldn't sleep much and when he was sleeping it was a light one where he dreamt of becoming the hero who saves the world against the titans.

Eren hurriedly got dressed and made himself presentable before he strode outside the barracks and trotting off into a light jog towards Laird Sears' manor. He had to make the visit quick for their day off was only yesterday and today was a normal duty day. If he was late for duty then only God knows what Vice Corporal Levi would do to him. He shuddered at the thought.

Fast approaching the gates, Eren hailed the guards who saw him out yesterday. Recognising him, they didn't give him much of a hassle before letting him in.

He crossed the Duke's garden and gave the grand doorways a knock.

A stern looking man wearing pristine clothing opened the door and looked at him with beady eyes. "Yes?" the man said. Obviously Eren's arrival was unexpected.

"I'm here to see the Duke," Eren declared his intentions.

The man didn't know who Eren was and was about to send him away when against his better judgement allowed Eren to enter and have a seat while he went up to wake the Duke.

"Ah," Laird walked in wearing what looked to Eren as comfortable robes. On his face he wore a brilliant smile obviously expecting good news. "Apologies, I just woke up."

Eren stood up from his seat and stood as straight as a rod. Yesterday he didn't know who Laird was, but today he had to display proper protocol becoming of a military man when he meets a Duke.

Waving his hand absentmindedly Laird motioned for Eren to relax. "As you were. I'm surprised to see you here this early."

"I had to come early otherwise I would be late for duty."

"Then how about at night? Surely it could have waited?"

Eren shook his head. "I have to observe curfew."

Laird pondered this for a moment before laughing. "Ah, don't sweat it. I'll write you a letter to excuse you from duty today. Perhaps, for the remainder of your career even depending on your reply to my request," he said half-jokingly.

Eren could sense that in the middle of that joking manner, Laird Sears was a serious man expecting a serious answer. A positive answer.

"Sir, I have decided to accept your request."

There was no sweet-talking, no beating around the bush. Eren gave a straight answer so Laird also replied in a similar manner. "Good. Then let's get you to start tomorrow." He clapped his hands together. "Now then, I'm sure you haven't had breakfast yet. Shall we get you some?"

Again Eren shook his head.

"No breakfast? How about tea?" Laird offered, not in the least offended by Eren's flat refusal.

"I'd like to start the task as soon as possible."

Laird laughed. "So eager! That's the kind of attitude I like, my boy! But come, let's get you something to fill your stomach first. It's going to be a long day for you afterwards."

Eren wanted to refuse but he thought better not to. One refusal was enough. If he refused any more he was afraid that he would offend the Duke. Instead, he offered a compromise. "I'd like to, but I really want to start now. How about you send the breakfast down so I can share it with Annie?"

Shaking his head in amused disbelief, Laird teased, "Really… so eager. If I might say so, I'd think you have a thing for Annie Leonhart!" he laughed at his own joke.

Eren got pink around the ears though he wasn't sure why. He already admitted to himself that he found Annie quite attractive from the talk he had with Armin. But quite was all. A bit of attraction should not cause him to show embarrassment over being teased. But he did.

Eren ignored his own reaction and barely heard Laird say that he was going to get changed seeing that Eren was so eager.

Loyal to his word, it wasn't even five minutes before Laird Sears came back wearing practical clothing. By practical it meant that he wasn't wearing anything colourful and fancy. The quality of his clothes however still separated him from the common people and at the very least it was clear that he was a noble, not a peasant.

A few minutes later, Eren found himself riding inside a luxurious carriage with the Duke of Stohess. The carriage, unlike most, was wide and had enough space for a table between the two seats. How people could eat while the carriage rocked due to the terrain, however, Eren could only guess.

They both made light conversation for the duration of the ride. With a carriage and the lack of traffic due to the early hour it only took them less than fifteen minutes to reach the prison where Annie was held at.

As they got down, the guards on duty saluted the Duke and allowed them passage.

A lanky man with dark, greasy hair and styled moustache greeted them, his voice holding an oiliness that was common to people who were sucking up to someone of higher rank than them. His palms pressed together and a smile that was too wide to be genuine, he said, "Ah, your Grace. To what do I owe this visit?"

Laird Sears was not an ignorant man and he knew when people were trying to get on his good side. With a cold look he held out a letter and said, "The jurisdiction of this prison belongs to me."

"Yes, yes," the man agreed readily. "That we know, your Grace."

Laird nodded. "Then let it be known that from today onwards nobody but this young man beside me should approach Annie Leonhart." He gave the man a sharp look. "If you ignore my command I shall have you trialled for treason and hanged."

"O-of course, your Grace," the man replied nervously and with a bow, he dismissed himself.

As they walked through the many cells, prisoners looked at them apprehensively. The clothes that the Duke wore showed the prisoners that they didn't belong here and that they weren't prison guards either.

Ignoring the mocking jeers, Eren fell into pace with Laird and asked him, "Sir, why did you have to threaten the head jailer?"

"You don't know men, Eren. You may be a veteran on the battlefield but let me tell you this: out there titans are only out to kill and eat you. Simple. With men it's much more complicated. There are betrayals, treason…" he paused before getting to the point. "As the man with the most power here, the head jailer is sure to abuse his power."

Eren didn't know what Laird meant until they reached the furthest cell. It was deeper underground than the others and only one person was held there.

They opened the cell and Eren was hit with a violent pang of nausea.

The smell alone was so strong. It was a mixture of sweat, human faeces, ammonia from human piss, blood and vomit. Obviously the sanitary conditions of the cell was not observed. Eren wondered how anyone could stand such appalling conditions but before he could let his mind wander, he saw chained to a wall, the sorry figure of Annie Leonhart.

* * *

End of Chapter Two

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3: The Ordeal

**Chapter Three: The Ordeal**

* * *

When Eren saw her his jaw dropped and he had to mentally nudge himself to close his mouth for not only did the cell stink, it was so filthy that flies buzzed everywhere and tried to attack any available moist orifice that was exposed on a human's body.

Looking at Annie, Eren could see numerous cuts and bruises on her arms, legs and even her face. Looking at the dried blood on her clothes Eren was certain the the cuts and bruises weren't limited to Annie's arms, legs and face.

That wasn't the shocking part, however, for Eren knew that titan shifters healed their wounds quickly. What shocked him was why the wounds stayed.

Laird coughed a few times and pulled out a handkerchief tucked inside one of his pockets, his eyes squinting and his eyebrows forming an expression of disdain, as he quickly covered both his nose and mouth with the cloth as if it would do anything to help reduce the offensive stench. "After she was defrosted, she was pumped full of relaxants so she wouldn't fight back," he explained. "Then she was given truth serums but she wouldn't release any information so they beat her up constantly."

Upon hearing this, Eren hypothesised that relaxants impaired the nervous system thus impairing the healing abilities of titan shifters as well.

Finally, when he couldn't take anymore, he tapped Eren's shoulder and mumbled through the handkerchief, "I'll go and get someone to clean the place up."

Holding back the bitter bile that was rising through his throat, Eren covered his nose and mouth with his shirt and walked towards Annie.

Ignoring the fact that he stepped on foul liquids on the floor, Eren stood at an arm's length away from Annie and inspected her closely.

Her wounds were healing but very slowly, Eren observed.

As her head was lolling downward, Eren inferred that she was either knocked out or sleeping and he moved to sweep the golden hair that covered her face sideways to get a better look at her face when all of a sudden the world tumbled over.

He landed on the cold, filthy cell floor with a loud thud and his shirt became soaked in the foul fluids running through the cell floors. It took him a moment to realise that he had been flipped over.

Standing, he looked at the bound Annie still in the posture that she was in when she flipped him over. He couldn't help but let out an uncontrollable smile.

"Really, even though you're unconscious you still flip me over like how you did when we were just cadets," he chuckled.

He moved again to close in on Annie and was more alert this time.

Despite Annie being unconscious, and despite her being bound by chains, her body was moving reflexively to protect herself from danger. It took Eren a while but he managed to finally suppress her movement by putting her in a head-lock,

"Phew," he gasped. He was panting by now. "Well that was hard," he said aloud. He knew that Annie was unconscious but he still talked to her anyway.

The struggle with trying to avoid and block her reflexive defence left Eren panting from exertion. Still in holding the head-lock, Eren wondered how the jailers managed to cause the cuts and bruises on Annie's body when she was this violent even when unconscious.

His eyes scanned his surroundings. Eren noted how the cell was spacious especially for just one prisoner. There was just a single candle holder to illuminate the inside of the cell and there were no bars to see the sky outside. In other words, the cell was an absolute confined space.

Eren looked around wondering how the cell was ventilated when he noticed a long, metal pole on one corner of the cell. Due to the poor lighting, Eren had to squint to see it better and he noticed some blood specks on it. From this, he concluded that the jailers couldn't get close to Annie so they had to result to using the metal pole to try to beat her into submission.

After he was done inspecting the room, Eren realised the position he was in. Holding Annie into the head-lock meant that his face was the closest to hers than it had ever been.

Thump.

His heart started beating faster.

He was startled at how long her grime coated eyelashes were. He supposed that if she had a good wash, the grime coating would reveal her eyelashes to have the same blonde colour as her hair.

Lost in his reverie, he didn't realise that Annie was beginning to stir. The head-lock had deprived her of enough oxygen to awaken from her tired slumber.

Her eyelids flickered and Annie Leonhart realised that someone had her in a head-lock.

Panicking, she struggled, raised her left foot and kicked as hard as she could backwards at her assailant's shins.

"Ow!"

Eren let go of the head-lock and bent down to clutch his shin trying to ease the pain from the unexpected attack. However, before he could settle down, Annie's boot firmly planted itself on his face sending him flying backwards and crashing into the cell wall.

From there Annie relentlessly assaulted Eren as best as a person being hindered by the chains could. She attacked repeatedly in a mad rage not even thinking who the person was. She only stopped when Eren held out his arms and cried out, "Annie, stop! Stop!"

With a final kick to his temple, Annie sent Eren flying sideways before she stopped when she realised she recognised the voice.

"Eren?" she said questioningly.

Curled up on the floor, Eren figured tomorrow his body would be aching all over. Badly. Still, it was a pain that he was used to from the many years of training and fighting titans experience.

Groaning, he pushed himself up. "Jesus, Annie! You'd think you'd be more genteel when you meet an old comrade."

Hearing this, Annie's face hardened and her gaze became sharp.

Eren noticed the shift in her mood. Still he ignored it and teased, "What? You don't consider me a comrade?"

"Why are you here, Eren Jaeger?" Annie said his name in full to implicate that she was being serious.

Eren was taken aback, but he figured he would push his luck so, grinning sheepishly he replied, "I missed you so I came to visit."

That was the last words he said before he saw black.

* * *

Eren awoke with a severe headache. His eyes fluttered open with difficulty. The corner of his eyes felt painful whenever he blinked. His eyes were watery when he did manage to open them and the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him.

As he stirred Laird Sears noticed him and he hastily stood up from his seat and walked over to him. "Ah, you're up. I thought we lost you there."

Moving to sit in an upright position, Eren felt disorientated and his whole body ached. "What happened, Sir?"

Laird chuckled.

"Forgive my manners," he grinned. "When I came back with people to clean up the cell, we found you unconscious on the ground being kicked repeatedly by Annie Leonhart."

That's right, Eren thought to himself. He was down in the cells talking to Annie before he was in this room with Laird.

"What might you have said to Annie that caused her to have such a violent reaction towards you?"

"I made a joke about missing her."

Laird was stunned for a second and then he began to laugh loudly. Uncontrollably. As if he forgot all about being a noble.

Wiping tears in his eyes, Laird wheezed from laughing too much and said, "Well, at least that was all. For that moment I thought that you two were really incompatible."

Eren shook his head. "Perhaps you're right. I know Annie. She's a very strong willed woman. Still I won't give up something that I have just started."

Laird clapped Eren on the back and roared, "That's my boy! Now, come. Have some brandy. Ease your pain."

Eren accepted the glass offered to him by Laird and waited patiently for him to fill it up with the alcohol.

"What time is it?"

"Six at night."

Eren raised the brandy filled glass and touched it upon his lips but stopped short of taking a sip before saying, "I should be heading back to the barracks."

Laird smiled lightly and gestured with his hand, "It's fine. It's fine. Have a drink first. As I've already said, I've already put a motion for you to function independently. You're not bound by curfew anymore."

Eren still had his reservations but decided not to pursue it as he took a gulp from the glass. The liquid burned in his throat as it went down and Eren's eyes became watery and he choked and coughed a few times.

"Well," Eren started. "If I'm no longer bound by curfew, I'd like to visit Annie one more time tonight before I head back."

"Hahaha! You really don't know how to give up do you, boy? Very well, very well!" Laird called for his butler and arranged for a carriage to drop Eren off at the prison. He also handed Eren a letter bearing his official seal as well as a necklace that bore his family crest to show to the head jailer.

Minutes later Eren arrived at the prison and was welcomed by the head jailer.

Seeing that he was not with the Duke after he got down the carriage, the head jailer's tone of voice changed from the oily one that he was using to a more authoritative, colder one.

"Tch, I thought the Duke has come over again," he muttered irritatedly. Impatiently, to Eren he said, "So? Why are you here?"

Eren handed him the letter bearing the official seal of the Duke and the head jailer's eyes gleamed. Taking the letter delicately from Eren, he opened it and read it twice.

"Ahem. If you'll forgive my manner just now," he said, again his voice sounding oily.

Internally Eren laughed at the quick change of attitude of the head jailer after having seen the letter but externally he didn't show it. With a straight face, he was about to ask the head jailer politely to take him to Annie's cell, but he stopped himself and assumed a more commanding tone. "Take me to Annie Leonhart's cell."

"Yes, of course, Sir."

The head jailer lead Eren through the filthy corridors of the prison until they arrived at Annie Leonhart's cell.

When he opened the cell door, Eren was surprised at the change in the conditions of the cell.

The cell previously filthier than any other cell in the prison was now cleaner than even a hospital room. It smelled of the disinfectant alcohols used in the hospitals and the room was scrubbed clean such that the stone tiles actually gleamed.

Parts of the room had a carpet installed and a rather large, comfortable bed was placed in the corner of the room.

Bowing slightly, the head jailer excused himself and said that he would return shortly.

Eren entered the cell and approached the weary looking Annie.

She looked up, saw him and said, "Back again for more?"

Eren took a step backwards and held out his hands in a sign that he wasn't here for a fight. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Annie. I was only joking earlier."

"Hmph, so you didn't really miss me? You shouldn't get a girl's hopes up like that, you know?" This time it was Annie's turn to mock Eren.

A hint of a smile appeared on her face. She didn't know the reason why Eren was here. She had a suspicion that he was here to squeeze out some information from her so as long as she was wary of that, she decided she could have fun by teasing him. After all, that was the only entertainment she would get while being imprisoned here.

Taken by surprise from the comment, Eren blushed a bit, scratched the back of his head and mumbled softly so that only he could hear, "It's not like that was a complete lie."

Unfortunately, Annie heard this and she laughed loudly. "What? You actually missed me?"

Turning red from embarrassment, Eren retorted, "Wha- who would miss a violent woman like you?!"

Annie frowned. "So why are you here, really? Did you come here just to make fun of me? Perhaps squeeze out information about the titans? Because if you are, you can forget it."

Eren's heart sank. That last statement of Annie hit the mark and he was never a good liar so his facial expressions didn't hide it.

Annie noticed this and she said, "So that's it? Eren, you're no different than all those others who came before you."

"Annie, I-"

"And guess what they did to me after they found out that I won't reveal anything?" her eyes fixated on the metal pole that was still in the corner of the room.

Even though the living conditions of the cell was now much better and carpets and a bed was even installed, the only thing that perhaps didn't change was the constant threat of the jailers beating Annie up just for their entertainment.

Eren followed her gaze and he felt a pang in his heart. A pain that only happened when he saw someone he cared for being wronged.

"I will never do that to you!" he shouted indubitably.

* * *

Moments before Eren's conversation with Annie, the head jailer was in his office thinking about the letter he had read. Shuffling some papers around, his lips curled into an unhappy frown.

He had plans for Annie Leonhart. For now the beatings were his source of entertainment, but in the future he planned on relieving himself with her. However, the letter clearly stopped him from doing so.

Of course, he still clung on to the idea that he could do it in secret and still get away with it, but he thought the chances of being discovered was too high and the repercussions too severe so he totally perished the thought of doing anything.

Instead, he walked across his office and opened a cabinet where he kept most of the stuff that he used to render his female prisoners helpless to his advances.

He picked up a container full of soil and stuck three incense sticks into the soil.

"Three should be enough," he said as his thoughts went back to the letter.

The Duke had known about what he was doing to his female prisoners. He thought he didn't but the crafty Duke actually knew and closed one eye! A deep veneration welled up from within him. If the Duke was so kind, then he would respect the Duke's instructions and spare Annie Leonhart from his future plans. She was the one female prisoner he would not touch.

Looking back at the incense sticks he had in his hands he sighed. These aphrodisiac incense sticks cost him quite a bit but if it was for the Duke and the instructions in his letter, he would gladly use them all and get some more.

He stopped thinking about these matters, walked back towards Annie Leonhart's cell and placed the container at the doorway. Then he proceeded to lock the cell door with Eren still inside as per the letter's instructions.

* * *

Annie and Eren heard the lock.

They stopped their talk and looked at each other in the eye.

Panicking, Eren rushed to the cell door and shouted, "Hey! What's the deal?"

By this time, however, the head jailer was already in flight and had traversed half the distance from Annie's cell to his office.

Eren banged and kicked at the cell door hoping to kick it open but to no avail.

By sheer misfortune Eren, who had been standing by the cell door, was the first to get a whiff of the aphrodisiac produced by the incense sticks. Later on, the incense would permeate the whole room and affect Annie too, but for now Eren had taken the brunt of it and his heart pumped the blood throughout his body faster.

There was a stirring in his loins. A heat he could not remove.

He shook his head multiple times in an attempt to clear it but he had breathed in too much of the aphrodisiac and his mind was filled with lecherous thoughts.

Intoxicated, his thoughts fell on the chained and therefore defenceless Annie. He turned around, stopped his shouting and examined Annie's figure more closely, his eyes gleaming with impure thoughts.

From the top down, Annie was beautiful. She had a head full of blonde hair, her eyelashes were an inch long and her nose and lips were very attractive. The shape of her face was perfect and in his intoxicated state Eren thought that this was the type of woman he wanted to bear his children. The primal thought of mating with her and mixing their genes together took over him and he started walking unsteadily back towards Annie.

"What's wrong with you?" Annie asked as she observed Eren carefully. The sudden change in his character immediately put up her guard. She was ready to defend herself.

Unfortunately in his intoxicated state, Eren's senses were heightened to such a point that he could react faster, better than ever before and he managed to avoid Annie's attacks.

He pinned her to the wall with all of his body weight and he felt her warm on his skin. He thoroughly enjoyed the soft feeling of her breasts pressing against his chest and he leaned in closer to her to give her grimy nape a kiss.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Annie shouted hysterically. She had not experienced the touch of a man before but she knew that being a prisoner, her jailers might do something to her so she did her best to defend herself and she didn't doubt for a second that they would break through her defence. However, that's exactly what Eren just did.

"Annie, you're so beautiful," Eren gasped for breath as he ended the long kiss to her nape leaving her a love bite.

He firmly gripped a handful of her fringe and pulled it back to reveal her face. Then he pushed her head firmly yet gently against the wall. In this position, Annie who was shorter, was forced to look up at Eren. "Yes… so beautiful," Eren said in almost a whisper.

He leaned in and their noses touched. Annie could feel his warm breath and became slightly conscious of hers for she had been imprisoned for a long time and had never brushed her teeth during that period.

It was true, although the cell was now clean, she herself was not. She would not allow any of them to get closer to her so they couldn't give her a good scrubbing.

Eren just paused there looking straight into her eyes. Then, like a chicken, he snapped his neck quickly and gave her a peck on her lips. Once, twice. The ecstasy that he got from doing that put him into a high and finally he couldn't bear it any longer and he finally gave her a full kiss.

His tongue explored her mouth, licking her teeth and then her tongue. Annie fought hard against this invasion and her tongue coiled around his during her attempt to wrestle against his tongue. Finally she gave up at trying to push him out with her tongue and bit down hard instead.

The unexpected pain shook Eren's body and he naturally reacted by pulling back and hitting Annie with his open palm. The force was enough to send her sprawling on the floor.

Seeing her defenceless state on the ground, Eren grinning widely and continued his assault.

The rags that Annie wore from being a prisoner was torn off by Eren and he ravaged her breasts with his mouth. Licking, sucking. Eren moulded Annie's breasts like a baker would a dough with his hands before he moved on and kissed his way through her navel.

He paused just before he reached her most private area. He stuck out his tongue, looked at Annie's eyes and licked upwards in one long stroke from there to her face. The sticky saliva disgusted Annie but she said nothing. She didn't want to give Eren the satisfaction of showing that she was disgusted.

Due to his intoxication, Eren sniffed at Annie's hair like a dog and his face broke out into a grin. He held her hair into his hand and showed it to Annie. "Annie, please…" he huffed. "Bear my children. I want one of them to have their hair the colour of gold."

And with this he forced Annie into the bed and tore off the remainder of her rag-clothes as well as her panties revealing a thick jungle of unkempt, blonde pubic hair.

"Even your pubic hair is gold," Eren nodded in approval. By now he didn't know what he was doing, much less what he was saying so in a slurred mumble he said, "I like it this way. Don't shave it."

Annie felt herself go red. Never had a man talked to her like this before. She struggled one last time trying to knee Eren in the stomach knowing that the inevitable was about to come but Eren as a man was stronger than her physically. Her struggling did nothing and she felt Eren's fingers caress her most special place. The feeling was ticklish yet good at the same time. She couldn't deny that for the fumes of the aphrodisiac incense was starting to get to her too. Not as much, but enough to get her slightly aroused.

Feeling Annie's stickiness, Eren who was a virgin too was curious enough to give his fingers a lick. The taste was unique. Almost without a taste. Almost salty. To him whose brain was not functioning properly he couldn't describe what Annie's juices tasted like but the smell of it was enough to drive him over the edge and, without warning, he pulled out his manhood and slammed it into Annie Leonhart.

There was a small resistance when he did this. The feeling of his tool tearing into something then pure bliss. The velvet warmth of Annie's flesh wrapped all of him. Her flesh throbbed, clenching and relaxing and then clenching again in a poor attempt to push out its sudden invader. Eren felt that everything fell into place. Annie's hole fit him like a glove. Her tunnel was just enough to take all of him and was just the right tightness too. To him it felt as though they were made for each other.

Annie beat Eren's back with her fists and screamed angrily, helplessly, "You… fucking… asshole! That fucking hurt!"

From the time his manhood entered her, Annie felt her hymen being torn and pain. Now he completely ignored her and pounded away furiously as if she was a rice sack that he had stuck his dick into.

Of course, at the rate that he was pounding, it didn't take long for Eren to climax and fire long bursts of his cum inside Annie's vagina but, through the aphrodisiac, he was not affected by his climax in the slightest. His hard wood still stood erect proudly and he continued to pound away at Annie.

It must be said that Annie could feel Eren's warm seed being deposited into her and her heart fell. Once. Twice. Three times. Through eight orgasms, Eren continued fucking her with all might thoroughly filling her. Each of those times the feeling of dread grew in Annie and she had no doubt that she would soon be bearing Eren's children.

By the ninth time Eren was still going and by this time the aphrodisiac had thoroughly invaded her senses and Annie too moved her hips in rhythm with Eren's thrusts. She moaned in pleasure and even took the initiative to turn around and cling on tightly to Eren. They kissed passionately and their tongues danced around. Without warning Annie felt a surge through her body and she experienced her first climax in her life and the first of many that night.

* * *

The next morning was an odd one.

Eren woke up on an unfamiliar bed naked and his head hurt. He tried to stand up but he felt a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw the head of Annie Leonhart pressed onto himself as she snoozed away without a care in the world.

Eren's mind flashed back to the events of last night. He was intoxicated by the aphrodisiac but it was a different intoxication from drinking too much alcohol or taking opium, the current drugs being dealt in the black market. He remembered every detail and his heart sank. He cursed at himself mentally for being weak against the aphrodisiac. Still, when he observed Annie's sleeping face on his chest he was filled with warmth. What was done was done. He couldn't take it back and the best he could do was take responsibility for it.

When Eren's heart was filled with warmth after observing Annie's beauty, his body's natural reaction made his morning wood to rise. Feeling something poking against her bare skin, Annie woke up with a start.

She jumped out of the bed and was startled that she was naked. Then she remembered the events of last night and flushed deep red at the things that she said when they made love passionately after the aphrodisiac had thoroughly invaded her senses. While she made to cover her nakedness with the blankets, Eren laughed and said, "Good morning, beautiful."

Annie glared at him. "Beautiful my foot! Listen, last night I became intoxicated by something. I'm sure you were too so I won't blame you fully for what you did. But don't think for a second that anything I said were true."

Eren shrugged. He stood up and walked over to Annie and hugged her from the back. He kissed her cheek and said affectionately, "But I meant what I said."

Annie's heart started beating faster but her good judgement made her ignore the statement as she elbowed Eren. Her face still flushed, she hissed, "Cover yourself up!" Eren's erect morning wood was all that occupied her vision.

Eren felt that there was some definite improvement between their relationship. The elbowing that Annie gave him just now didn't hurt as how much it normally would. He smiled and put on his clothes while Annie had to make do with the bedsheets for he had torn her rag-clothes in the first place.

As soon as he was dressed, Eren tried the cell door. This time it was already open and in his heart he felt relief. Relief that it wasn't some ploy by Laird Sears to imprison the two known titan shifters in all of humanity.

"I'll get you some clothes and breakfast," he said to Annie.

And then he left. The carriage he came in last night was still there. The coachman was sleeping inside and he had to rap at the carriage door to wake him up. They rode through the streets and arrived at Laird Sears' manor in good time.

What Eren didn't expect was that Mikasa would be there.

* * *

End of Chapter Three

 _To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: The Truth

**Chapter Four: The Truth**

* * *

Seeing Eren, Mikasa immediately rushed over and almost knocked him over.

"Eren! Where were you? Are you alright?" she asked worriedly when she saw the bruise around Eren's eye socket. Immediately her hands flew all over his body to inspected him.

Feeling awkward, Eren tried to push Mikasa off of him but failed.

"What's all this?" Mikasa's voice rose up a pitch when she noticed Eren's heavily bruised state. She fixed him a stern stare. "You better tell me what's going on."

Normally the concern would be well received, but this time Eren felt irritated at Mikasa's overly concerned attitude. "Seriously, Mikasa. Give me a break."

Mikasa looked at Eren with shock in his eyes. This was the first time he had talked back to her since that time when they were kids. "Give you a break?" she was vexed. "Do you know how worried I was when you didn't turn up for duty? When you didn't come back to your barracks at night? And then I see you in the morning and you're covered with bruises. How can I give you a break?"

Eren couldn't give a reply so he quickly changed the topic, "I have to go report to the Duke," he said and he made to bypass Mikasa.

Mikasa however reacted to his movement and blocked his way. "Not until you tell me what's going on," she said resolutely.

"I don't have time for this, Mikasa."

"Well, I do."

Eren bit his lip. It was clear to him that Mikasa wouldn't be giving up any time soon. He was in a tight spot! He couldn't just divulge everything to Mikasa but he also knew that Mikasa would find out sooner or later. In his mind he was weighing down which was more beneficial.

Would it be better to tell her now and get it over with or would it be better to continue to hide it from her?

Finally, after a moment of deliberation, he decided that no matter what, Mikasa couldn't find out. It wasn't just about the mission. He knew that he held a bit of affection for Annie. And even if he didn't he was just enough to not leave someone whom he had shared a bed with. Especially when he was the one who made the move first intoxicated or not.

He also wasn't completely oblivious. For a while now, he had known that Mikasa held romantic feelings for him. However, although he loved her dearly to the point that he would fight anyone who would hurt her, this love was only that of a sibling. How could he return her feelings for him?

He patted her shoulder with two hands and looked at her in the eyes. "Mikasa, I know I'm being secretive, but I promise I will let you know later," he said seriously. Then he added, "Please."

Looking into his eyes, Mikasa was mesmerised for a second and before she knew it she had consented with a nod of her head. Satisfied, Eren left. It was only after he left that Mikasa realised what she had done and she stared at Eren's departing figure about to open her mouth and call out to him but she decided not to. She shook her head and continued looking until he disappeared into the mansion, mumbling to herself, "Since when did his back become so wide?"

* * *

Crash.

The piles of paper and ornaments on the expensive desk were swept away onto the floor when a body came crashing into it.

Eren down upon Laird Sears whom he had just sent flying. "What are you scheming?" he asked with subdued anger.

Laird Sears gave Eren a smile even though he had just been grabbed by the shirt and thrown on the his desk. "What do you mean, Eren? I'm not scheming anything."

Laird stood up and started straightening his crumbled clothes.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Eren roared. He raised his hand and made to hit Laird but he held himself. He was angry but he didn't dare risk angering Laird any more than what he had done. That one throw was enough, he thought to himself, to shock Laird into seeing how serious he was.

Laird flinched when Eren raised his hand but the expected blow did not come. He laughed nervously. "Please, Eren. I know you're capable of a civilised conversation. Sit," he gestured to his sofa. "Tell me what upset you."

Eren remained standing and looked at Laird forlornly. He knew that Laird was pretending to be uninformed so he decided to beat Laird in his own game and went along with the flow relating to him the details of the events that transpired the previous night.

When he was finished, Laird looked at him with horror in eyes. He gasped and said, "He did not!"

Eren smiled bitterly and nodded his head. "He did."

Laird furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his balding head. "Well, I suppose him being my subordinate, I owe you an apology."

"You really think an apology is enough?" Eren growled.

"Well what else would you like me to do, Eren?"

The corners of Eren's lips curled slightly upwards. "I don't know. Hm, how about you grant me permission to take Annie out of prison?"

There was a stunned look on Laird Sears face and then he laughed out hysterically. "Son, I've been around for fifty years and that's the funniest joke I've heard!" He wiped the corners of his eyes which had teared up from his laughter and noticed that Eren's face was straight and serious. "You weren't joking were you?"

Eren didn't say anything and just looked on.

"By the Gods! You are serious! You're crazy, you know that?"

"Sir, whether I'm crazy or not is not the issue. So what do you say?"

Laird paced around the room. He was muttering words under his breath that was too soft for Eren to hear. Then he stopped, put one hand out and held up a finger as if he was about to say something and then closed his mouth, shook his head and paced around some more.

"One day every week."

"Sir?"

"One day every week. That's the best concession I can grant you. I don't have enough power to set Annie Leonhart free."

Eren grinned. Once a week was better than letting Annie be cooped up in that cell for an indefinite period of time. At least, that's what he thought.

"I'm not done yet. When you go out, you must make an effort to changed her appearance slightly so that no one will be able to recognise her. Also she is to be restrained."

Eren understood. Doing this was a very dangerous proposition. If Annie managed to break free then she could cause a lot of damage and kill many humans. He hadn't thought about this for all that was in his mind just then was his affection for Annie and how nice it would be to take her out on dates. Now that the consequences were made clear to him he hesitated.

"Do you have any of those tranquilisers for me to use?"

"I'll arrange for a dozen of them to be delivered to you every week."

And with that, their meeting was adjourned.

Eren left Laird Sears mansion. He half jogged, half ran towards the town centre where the better shops were located compared to the market square. He looked around and saw one of the cafes that was more packed with people and decided that it was popular so he chose that one and walked inside.

He was greeted by a pretty, young waitress and was assigned a seat close to the windows. She left and promptly returned with a menu for him. The waitress didn't hover around and made to leave and come back at his call when he stopped her and said, "Ah, sorry. I'm not really here to dine in. I'd like to have some take away if that's possible."

A look of confusion entered the waitress's face. "Let me ask my boss," she said.

Eren nodded and waited for her return. He thought it odd for a popular cafe to not do takeaways but didn't say anything.

It didn't take long for the waitress to return. Smiling she said, "My boss says you're the first to request that but she will comply."

"Can I ask you why I'm the first?" Eren said, confused.

"We've just opened today and normally people tend to eat in to experience the cafe's ambiance," she laughed.

"Oh. Then I'd like to have the breakfast set please."

Eren waited for a while, received his order, hailed one of the coaches and arrived back at the prison just before breakfast.

The head jailer recognised him immediately and let him in. He didn't escort Eren into Annie's cell to give him space.

As he entered the door, Annie looked up, surprised that he came back.

"What, you didn't expect me to be true to my word?"

Annie didn't reply.

"I brought you breakfast. I hope you like bacon and eggs."

Annie was still confused about the whole ordeal and when Eren got within ten steps distance away from her she shouted. "Don't!"

Eren didn't stop and continued walking towards her. Nine steps away, eight steps away. He continued until he was less than five steps away when Annie said more urgently, "Don't come near me!"

But by that time it was already too late. Eren was already in front of her.

Eren observed Annie's face noting the confusion and turmoil in her eyes. A pained expression crossed his face and he felt helpless. He didn't know when, but he found himself embracing Annie who just sat on the bed in shock not doing anything.

Finally, Annie struggled and pulled free from his embrace. "Leave me alone," she said softly. "Please."

Eren could only comply and left her to herself.

When Eren left, Annie's mind was muddled. The sharp, throbbing pain from becoming a woman still lingered about around her nether region and a deep sense of hatred for Eren welled up from within her. She felt taken advantage of. Disrespected.

Somewhere from deep within her though, she started asking herself, did she really hate Eren Jaeger? Memories of their time together from during their training days flashed back in her mind and she could still remember it clearly as if it was only yesterday the vigilant look on Eren's face when they first met and the look of determination that never wavered be it when they started their 3D manoeuvre gear training, and that time when they training in hand to hand combat.

It was the first time that she felt this way and she could do nothing against it. Perhaps, she thought, she had feelings for him after all. If not then why would her heartbeat feel erratic whenever she thought of the incident last night and thought of his face? Maybe she even liked him for longer than that. Why is it that she didn't kill Armin when she was in titan form? Could it be that she subconsciously knew that he would be sad if she did that and so refrained from doing so?

All these thoughts ran in her head until she fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Annie woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs and coffee.

When she sat up, she noticed the silhouette of a person sitting down at a corner of the cell room silently observing her.

"Good morning beautiful."

Annie froze. Her eyes narrowed and her expression instantly became guarded. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave me alone yesterday?"

"I just wanted to see you first thing in the morning," Eren sighed then he stood up from his seat and left but not before saying, "I've brought you breakfast. I hope you eat it this time otherwise I'll be cross."

Annie did not touch the food and just curled up on the bed trying to ignore her hunger until she fell asleep.

The next days the same scene repeated every morning until eventually Annie snapped and shouted, "Okay! I'll eat your damn bacon and eggs. Now leave me alone!"

Eren grinned. He had tried to get her to respond to him for a long time but to no avail. He would visit the every morning only to find the breakfast that he brought from the previous day untouched. He counted the number of days Annie hadn't eaten and was shocked when he realised that she hadn't eaten for three days!

"What are you grinning for? Leave!" Annie hissed angrily.

"No. I want to see you eat it all first otherwise…"

Annie glared at him and then shoved the food down her mouth. It didn't take long for her to finish it all and she gave one last gulp before she said, "There! Happy?"

Seeing how childish she was acting, Eren could only laugh and reply, "Yeah. Happy." Before he left.

Annie sighed and muttered to herself, "What a kid."

"Oh yeah, by the way, we're going out on a date tomorrow."

"!"

Startled, Annie looked over to the door and only managed to catch a glimpse of the fleeing Eren. Her heart beat faster and her ears flushed red. "Did I just hear right? Me and Eren going on a date tomorrow?" she wondered to herself. "The progression is too fast!"

She shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts.

"Not good. I can't let him play around with me like this." She straightened her face and strengthened her resolve. Tomorrow, she would stop this madness.

* * *

The next morning Annie woke up by the sound of keys unlocking her prison cell.

Eren walked inside carrying a gift wrapped box complete with a ribbon on it. Annie had gotten used to Eren bringing her breakfast every morning that she was slightly surprised that today he didn't bring food but instead a gift wrapped box.

In fact, she had gotten so used to his presence that she barely reacted to his usual "Good morning, beautiful!" greeting as she felt that it was now part of the norm.

Noticing her curious gaze, Eren laughed and smiled. "You've already noticed, huh? I brought you a gift."

Saying this, he walked casually to her side as if it was the most normal thing to do and offered the gift wrapped box to her. "Open it."

Annie didn't immediately take the box from Eren. Instead, she looked at him with suspicion in her eyes and said, "What's the meaning of this?"

Eren shrugged casually. "I just wanted to give you a gift. You know, since I'm taking you out and this is going to be our first date and all."

Annie looked at the box held in Eren's hands and took it into her own rather unwillingly. She gently tugged on the ribbon that held the box shut and then pulled off the cover to reveal a simple, yet beautiful dress. She turned to look at Eren with a frown.

"You don't like it?" Eren asked nervously. "I thought it would look good on you."

"Take it back."

"Oh, come on. You should at least wear it once. Please? Just for today," Eren pleaded.

"No," Annie refused flatly.

"It's a nice dress!"

"No means no." Then, as if she changed her mind, Annie chewed on her lower lip lightly and said, "Fine. Just for today."

"Really?" Eren's eyes brightened up.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just thought that the dress would change my appearance enough for other people not to recognise me."

Eren snickered. "Sure, sure. Oh, how about let your hair down for today? Just to add to the image change."

Annie never had the luxury of putting her hair up like she normally did ever since she got captured and put to jail. Truth be told, her hair was now in a constant, ruffled mess and its usual shine was replaced by a greasy finish. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't mock me. I've never had the luxury of taking a bath, much less tie my hair up."

"Hm, you're right. Then let's get you cleaned up!" Eren said enthusiastically and unbound her from the chains that restrained her. Then he pulled on her hand and half pulled, half dragged her towards the head jailer's office which oddly enough had a large, luxurious bath area.

"Do you need me to help you wash up, or…?"

"I can wash myself fine, thank you!"

Another hour later, Annie emerged from the bath looking clean as a whistle. Eren couldn't help but snicker again earning him another look of contempt from Annie.

"What is it this time?"

"Nothing, just a little inside joke. Here," Eren handed Annie another small, gift-wrapped box. "I thought you might not have clean underwear."

Annie couldn't help but curse out and lash at Eren with her hands but he was ready for reaction and easily avoided her open palm.

"Tsk, tsk." Eren looked at her with mock disapproval but didn't proceed to follow up on his crude jokes which served only to annoy her. "Better hurry up and get dressed. We've only got till sundown and time's ticking."

* * *

The carriage dropped them off along the corner of the street in the city's upper class area.

The place could be said to be busy. There was a constant bustle of activity where ladies in colourful, fine clothing walked around with their heads held up high as they dragged along poor porters carrying their excessive shopping while men in fine, elegant suits stood amongst themselves talking and discussing about their latest ventures in business.

Eren thought that although the place was busy, it couldn't compare to the market square that he was familiar with where the lower class people mixed in, begged, and sometimes even stole from the the middle class people who did their shopping.

Eren took Annie's hand into his own, eliciting a surprised reaction from her. First, her body froze and then she tried to pull away from his grip, but he fought her struggling as best as he could. Finally, realising that struggling was futile, Annie gave up and slackened her stiff, nervous body and fell awkwardly into a holding-hands position with Eren.

The area wasn't familiar to Eren so he decided to just take a stroll around hand-in-hand with Annie to see if there were any places of interest. First they walked around to get a sufficient grasp of the area. Then when the sun rose high above the sky and an audible, embarrassing low grumble came from his stomach, Eren decided it was time for lunch.

They walked into one of the less crowded places. As Annie pointed out, she didn't like crowds and the less people the better for she feared that someone might recognise her despite her significant change of image.

The both of them sat down and the waiter, a man with a well groomed beard, walked over to them, smiled and offered them each a menu.

Annie took hold of the menu that was given to her and her eyes became round with shock. "What the hell, it's so expensive!" she said in a low voice to Eren.

Indeed, being located within the upper class area, the restaurant's prices were drastically higher than those at market square. Furthermore, the reason why fewer people dined in this restaurant wasn't because the food wasn't nice but because the prices, even for the rich, was still high. It could be said that only the richest of the rich dined in this restaurant.

Seeing her reaction, Eren grinned. "You said you wanted a quiet place with fewer people."

"I thought- I didn't think that this place was so expensive!"

Eren didn't tease her any further. He wanted today to be memorable for her so he just replied casually saying, "Relax. All our expenses for this trip is paid for."

This comment of course roused Annie's suspicion. "By whom?" she knew that there was someone behind this all and Eren just let one clue slip.

Realising that he made a blunder, Eren played it cool. "Nobody important." He could still remember how he diplomatically convinced Laird Sears the night prior.

Their food arrived about a quarter of an hour later. The both of them ate and Eren tried to make small talk but didn't get much success in getting a proper conversation from Annie.

Their lunch ended and they left but just as they went through the restaurant's doorway, Annie stopped and tugged at Eren's sleeves and mouthed, "Toilet," before hurrying back into the restaurant.

Eren walked back inside and observed Annie have an animated conversation with one of the waitresses and he guessed that she was asking where the toilet was.

He stood around and waited. Five minutes. He thought that perhaps she was doing her business and thought that she was about to finish soon so he waited for a while longer.

Ten minutes and Annie still hadn't come back so the suspicious feeling in Eren's heart grew. He cursed and he ran towards the female toilets only to be stopped by the staff. A few minutes of arguments later, Eren was finally allowed to search inside and he wasn't surprised to find that Annie wasn't there.

He thanked the restaurant staff and quickly exited the restaurant. There were more people now walking about the streets and everywhere Eren's eyes looked, he saw a crowd. He felt like kicking himself for making such an amateur mistake.

With nothing for it, he decided to charge in a random direction hoping that he would be lucky and find Annie.

Annie fled but she didn't run. She just walked casually and tried to blend in with the crowd. Running would only draw attention to her and that's something she didn't want. She noticed the running Eren from the corner of her eyes. She was surprised that he picked the correct direction that she went to but she wasn't surprised that he had caught up to her location in a short amount of time because she walked whilst he ran.

It was fortunate that she was right beside a flower shop so she turned her back to him and picked up a bouquet of flowers and pretended to admire the arrangement of it.

She would have gotten away too if not for an unexpected person being there.

"Annie?"

Annie's heart froze and she turned to the sound of the voice. It was Historia Reiss.

"You're out of prison already?" Historia asked. There was a nervous edge to her voice and her eyes darted around trying not to meet Annie's. Then her eyes lit up and she called out with relief, "Ah, Eren!"

"Historia, hey. How are you? Listen, I'd love to chat but I'm in a rush right now."

"Oh," Historia's face fell. Somewhere deep in her subconscious she feared Annie Leonhart. She feared that she would turn into a titan and crush her into meat pulp. She was afraid that if Eren left she would be left alone with a monster so she hurriedly said, "Stay awhile, Eren. There's someone you should meet!" she motioned at Annie who was already a couple of metres away from them.

"Who? Ah!" Eren saw Annie and rushed to her side and caught her arm.

Annie wanted to flee but she couldn't. Of course, she could always shape shift into a titan but she didn't dare risk fighting a whole army in a confined space.

"What's going on between you two?"

Eren smiled at Historia. "Nothing, just a little lover's quarrel. Hey, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Mikasa about today."

"Lover's quarrel?" Historia repeated with her mouth forming a comical 'o'. "Come on, Eren. Try harder."

"Believe it or not, it's up to you. Just don't tell Mikasa about today."

"And if I do?" Historia said testily.

"You wouldn't. I know you. You're a good woman who'll look out for her friends."

"You're right, Eren. I am a good woman. And Mikasa IS my friend. And Annie is supposed to be in prison. I don't know what's the deal with her running out and about but it sure as hell is my business whether I tell Mikasa or not."

Eren had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach but he knew he could do nothing about the situation. "Fine," he said. "Do what you want. I'm off."

He strengthened his grip on Annie's arm and dragged her off to a quiet back alley somewhere.

"What's with you?!" he roared.

Annie had given up trying to pull free from Eren some time ago. It wasn't because she had lost hope but because she knew she didn't have enough strength to pull free from him. She attributed it to the fact that she hadn't eaten many proper meals since her imprisonment so her strength wasn't at its peak. "No matter," she thought to herself. "I will live to fight another day."

Her silence brought Eren back to his senses and he heaved a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

When he was sure that he was calm, he spoke to Annie in an even, measured tone. "Well, whatever. Just don't do it again."

He took her hand again and wrapped his fingers around hers. Then he whisked her away from the alley and continued sight-seeing and window shopping with her.

Annie was quite surprised but she didn't show it. She had expected Eren to hit her in his rage or severely berate her but he did none of that and instead continued their date as if everything was normal and nothing happened. She felt her heart tingle a little and a tiny bit of warmth spread throughout her body. Suddenly she found that she had started enjoying the warmth of their hands holding together and their fingers interlocked with each other.

The sun had started to set, its orange glow basking Eren and Annie. The invisible wall that Annie had set up had been gradually broken down by Eren and she found herself laughing at his jokes and speaking more than usual.

The took a break from walking and sat down next to the water fountain. The cool mist it sprayed was refreshing to the awkward beginning couple. The both of them observed the fountain in silence for a while and Eren found himself thinking aloud. "I wonder how these water fountains work?"

Despite their medieval lifestyle, he had always wondered how they could manage to run things like the 3D manoeuvring gear which ran on gas. In fact, where did the gas come from? How did they manage to contain them in metallic canisters?

There were many questions in his mind that were raised when his curiosity was piqued through Armin reading books to him when they were children.

"It was long ago," her soft voice spoke. Eren turned around and was surprised at Annie's knowledge. "When all men had the knowledge of kings and gods. We had everything. We could travel freely. I have heard that man had travelled to the moon and back. That time there were other vast continents and more races than now."

"What happened?"

Annie gave a small laugh. Not the kind when a joke was made but the kind when she'd done something foolish. "Nothing. That's the thing."

"What do you mean?" Eren asked curiously.

"Humanity's technology had advanced so far that with but a press of a button total annihilation would occur, so right then all wars came to a halt and no country's government dared to offend each other."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"A good thing? No, Eren," Annie shook her head. "It would be idealistic to say that a world without wars is perfect." She held out her hands, a gesture that Eren understood to refer to everything around them. "Look around! Within the walls there is much corruption going on.

"Humanity is wicked. You can view the rich as oppressive, but even the poor oppress each other instead of uniting to take down the corrupt officials in power. And even then, if they achieve that, another one will take that person's place. It's a never ending cycle.

"I have learnt from my father who had learnt it from his father before that. Whose father's father had learnt before that… well, you get the idea. Anyway, words were passed down in my family and I know that during that era, the population only grew larger and larger. There was less and less land and resources to support the growing population. People were suffering. But what could they do? If anyone dared to invade another country, they would be wiped off the map. That was the situation.

"If there was only creation and no destruction, the world would just be as doomed. That was what one person had come to a realisation to."

"Only one person?"

"Yes. Dr. Macelroy Lenz. Winner of many scientific awards for pioneering human body modification. It was he who had come to this realisation and so he led a team of his closest subordinates to create a greater enemy for humanity."

"And that was the titans?"

"You're half correct. His theory was if a new enemy arose, humanity would concentrate their efforts to unite without using their weapons of mass destruction against each other. And it would also serve as a good population control.

"His first experiments were failures. Those are the common titans you see today. As his research progressed he made aberrant titans until finally he managed to perfect his life's work and made the titan shifters.

"The other titans are not intelligent but when he perfected his research, Dr. Macelroy made it so that the titan shifters had the ability to control the other titans."

"If that's the case then why are you still attacking now? Hasn't humanity's population been wiped enough close to extinction?"

Annie looked at Eren with affection in her eyes. "That was then. Now things have changed. Dr. Macelroy had died. The current generation of titan shifters only view humans as sport. To stave off the boredom. After all, with a human base, we also share the same flaws as humans. We can get greedy. Corrupt."

This information flooded Eren brains and made his head throb. He asked, "Why are you telling me all this now?"

Annie shrugged. "I don't know myself. Maybe I've just grown fond of you." She rested her head against Eren's shoulder.

The weight of Annie's head on his shoulder eased Eren's troubled mind a little. He stroked her hair gently while he was lost in his thoughts wondering if he should make a report or not.

His heart throbbed a bit when he thought about how he was treated from before and how he is still being treated now as a weapon. He was kicked. Ridiculed. Spat on and beaten up. And now he was being treated 'ok' just because they had some use for him. These thoughts raced in Eren's mind and he was torn between wanting to protect humanity or just leaving things be.

* * *

A few weeks has passed since Eren and Annie's first date. During that time they had gone on a few more dates and they became more and more comfortable being with each other.

It was at this time that a brown cloaked figure sneakily made his way into the prison. He easily sneaked past the guards and he manoeuvred his way through the prison corridors as though it was his own backyard.

Finally, he reached the cell where Annie was being captive and he pulled out some metal wires from within his pockets. He poked them through the hole where the key to the cell door would have been and fiddled around until the lock clicked open.

He was greeted by the sight of an alert Annie waiting in a fighting stance ready to attack if the situation arose.

He held up his hands in alarm and he spoke in a hushed tone. "Annie, it's me!"

Annie looked through the brown hood that covered the unknown man's face and she immediately recognised him. "Reiner! What are you doing here? I heard someone picking the locks. So it's you!"

Reiner smiled. "Guilty as charged. Anyway that's not important, for now let's get out of here!" he said urgently.

Annie's heart leapt for a moment and then settled down as soon as it did. She eased up her fighting stance and walked back to her bed.

"Annie?" Reiner was confused.

"Reiner, go on without me."

"After I've come all this far? Annie, you know that this is not your place."

Annie touched her lower abdomen and her gaze grew unfocused for a moment.

"It can't be…" Reiner muttered with shock. "Y-you're with child?"

Her silence was all he needed to confirm his suspicions. Reiner no longer tried to suppress his voice into a hush and he shouted, "THAT BASTARD EREN!"

Reiner knew of Annie's location ever since he saw her with Eren at that time during their first date. At first he couldn't believe his eyes for he knew that Annie was in a cryogenic state but he could never be too sure so he made sure to follow them all the way.

After he made sure that the person that he saw was indeed Annie, he staked out the place and made careful plans to infiltrate the prison and bust Annie out. His anger wasn't because he had feelings for Annie, neither were they close friends. But as a titan shifter he felt that he was superior to the human race. He had forgotten during this moment that Eren too was like them.

"I will kill the bastard and feed his balls to the pigs!" he roared.

"Calm down, fool!" Annie hissed in panic. She was afraid that the guards would hear the commotion and come. "Don't forget that Eren is the same as us."

Reiner heaved heavy breaths as he tried to calm himself down. He saw the logic in Annie's reasoning. "He may be the same as us but he is not one of us," he said defiantly.

"Reiner, please. I know we're not close friends but please don't do anything rash. I might be able to convince Eren still."

Reiner shook his head like a stupid bull. "Annie, you know he will not join our cause. Don't let your feelings for him blind you."

"I'm not blind. He may still join us."

"What makes you think that?"

"This is his child." Again, Annie touched her lower abdomen affectionately. "Is that not reason enough?"

Reiner thought for a moment and then finally consented. "Very well. If he doesn't join us, I will end him. And you too." With that, Reiner swiftly exited Annie's cell and fled into the night.

While Annie sighed in relief as she managed to stave off the Armoured Titan, outside on a rooftop carefully observing the only entrance and exit of the prison, Mikasa stood, the night wind blowing her hair onto her face. Her pupils contracted as she observed the brown cloaked figure go in and out of the entrance.

* * *

End of Chapter Four.

 _To be continued..._


End file.
